Homecoming
by TheContentiousShadows
Summary: When tragedy strikes Quinn Connelly is forced to leave college and take over the company her father left to her. Using the Gotham Gazette to try and change the city she gets under the skin of the Gotham crime syndicate and surprisingly Batman. Bruce/OC


**Quint: Okay so this is our very first attempt at writing a FanFiction together.**

**Sam: Or writing anything together really. **

**Kris: So this takes place in between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight so everyone that was in the Dark Knight movie will be in this.**

**Sam: except for Rachel! pretend she never existed, because she was insanely annoying.**

**Kris: Well not insanely annoying but none of us really liked her so we cut her out of the story. As I was saying this takes place between the first two movies but we're going to be adding our own twist to the storyline though there might be one or two things in here that you may recognise from The Dark Knight.**

**Sam: like the Joker because he was awesome.**

**Quint: We own nothing except Quinn, her family history and the storyline.**

**Kris: Hope you enjoy the first chapter folks.**

**.o.O.o.**

_Homecoming_

_Chapter One_

**.o.O.o.**

It had only been two weeks since the death of Lawson Connelly and the city of Gotham was feeling the loss. For almost three decades the Connelly family had been a major part of Gotham, and while they certainly didn't have the sway that families such as the Wayne's possessed, they were still important figureheads. Which is why the people were shocked that the Connelly's last remaining heir had not yet returned to the city to take over where Lawson had left off.

At least, that was the general understanding that she was getting from today's article in the Gotham Gazette. It seemed that the reporters at her father's – or rather her – newspaper were not getting all of their facts checked. Quinn Connelly had been home for six days now. Her reappearance should have heralded a media frenzy. After all, she had always been viewed as Gotham's princess to Bruce Wayne's prince. In her younger years she had been unable to step out of the house without her picture being taken and splashed all over the pages of The Insider, Gotham's answer to tabloid news. It had taken a few exchanges of money swapping hands for everyone to believe that she was still at Stanford working on her Business degree. But it was imperative that they did. She was not ready to meet the public eye just yet.

She had been through this once before when she was thirteen and her mother passed. Her father had been a wreck about it and it had been up to Quinn and the staff to get him back on his feet and behind his desk at the Gotham Gazette.

So far her time back in Gotham had been spent making arrangements for her father's funeral that was to occur the following week and packing up some of her father's belongings that would be put in to storage. She knew that her father would have wanted it to be given to someone who could put it to better use; he was never one for keeping things that no longer held any value, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her father's keepsakes where all that Quinn had left of him.

Moving around in his study she sat down behind the old oak table and reclined into the comfortable computer chair. When she was younger she could remember her father picking her up to place her in his lap while he worked, and her mother lounging on the sofa across the room going over the plans for her latest charity auction. As it was at the moment Quinn's feet barely grazed the floor so she reached below the seat to let it down when her fingers caught on something below the leaver.

Getting off of the chair and kneeling on the floor she looked to see what it had been. Seeing something catch in the light she eased off the tape holding it there and pulled it back to examine it. It was a key. But not the generic house key that would have been easily recognisable, no this key was unique. It had two long prongs with various indents that were no doubt to catch on the tumblers of the lock. Why on earth would this be stuck to the bottom of her father's chair?

Hearing a knock at the front door she slipped the key into her jean pocket and made her way out to the landing at the top of the stairs. From below she could hear the butler, Jake, opening the front door and politely telling whomever was on the other side that no she was not there and no he did not know when she would be returning. Jake practically had the line engrained in him over the past two weeks. Reporters had flocked to her home wanting to be the first to catch a glimpse of the returning Connelly. It was the polite British accent that caught Quinn's attention though. She would know that voice anywhere.

"Alfred!" She called. The sound of her ballet flats hitting the polished marble of the stairs echoed around the silent house. By the time she had reached the bottom Jake had ushered Alfred into the house and disappeared. Sometimes Quinn swore the man had been a ninja in a previous life. As she approached she almost knocked the older man over with the force of her hug.

After the passing of the Wayne's Quinn's father had taken it upon himself to help looking after Bruce as he had been good friends with his father. With that being said Bruce and Alfred had called around to the Connelly house almost every other day and Quinn had come to see Alfred as an uncle of sorts and Bruce as a good friend. However when her mother had passed Bruce had been away at his first year of Princeton and when she received no word from him Quinn had grown angry and since then things between the two had been strained at best. When he had disappeared off the face of the Earth Quinn had known that he wasn't dead as every paper and media outlet in America had claimed. Bruce was too stubborn to die so his return two years ago had not come as much of a shock to her. What had shocked her was the email she had received from him five months later. To this day it sat in her saved items section of her email account, unread.

Pulling away from the hug Quinn could feel Alfred's appraising eye passing over her. Not so subtly she tried to wipe away the beginnings of the tears clouded her vision. "Master Wayne wished that he could join me but he had…prior engagements to attend to." She didn't miss the slight pause in his words but didn't push it. She was just glad to see Alfred after so long.

"That's alright Alfred. I'm just happy to see you. How have you been?" The two moved into the sitting room to continue talking. Alfred told her of how he was now living full time at The Heights with Bruce while Wayne Manor was being rebuilt, prompting Quinn to make a remark on Bruce needing a fulltime babysitter. This only caused a smile to form on the man's face. It was the kind of smile you got when you were privy to an inside joke. This smile confused Quinn. The topic then turned to Quinn and how her time at Stanford was going. Alfred asked if she would be returning after the funeral, Quinn's reply was that she wouldn't be returning and that she had too much to do here in the city, that she would finish her degree through online courses and that she had already cleared it with her professors.

Neither of the two noticed how much time had passed and it was only when one of the maids, Lucy Quinn thought her name was, came in with dinner that the two realized. Alfred cleared his throat and pulled something from the coat of the coat lying over the back of the couch. "Master Wayne wished for me to pass this on to you." Quinn took the envelope and turned it over in her hands. Her name was embossed on the cover in dark blue ink. "He understands if you are not quite ready to attend but he wanted me to tell you that he was sorry. About everything. Now if you will forgive me I believe that I will be taking my leave now. As you remarked earlier Bruce Wayne is nothing without his babysitter."

As he pulled himself up from the couch Quinn did the same and placed the envelope on the coffee table beside her. Pulling Alfred into another hug she said, "Thank you for dropping by. You don't know how much it means to be Alfred. I'll let you know my answer by tomorrow morning at the latest." She was of course referring to the invitation. "It was good seeing you again. I promise that it won't be another three years until we do this again. Jake will let you out." As expected, Jake was waiting by the entryway for Alfred. The man was scary good at his job.

When she heard the sound of the front door closing to walked back over to the couch and picked up the envelope. Carefully she pried it open and pulled the card from inside, letting the envelope fall to the cushion beside her. Again the invitation was embossed with the same dark blue ink that the envelope had bared.

_Quinn Miranda Connelly_

_You are invited to the Lawson Connelly Memorial Charity Auction to be held at the Gotham Central Museum of Art on the 26__th__ of July. _

_All proceeds from the auction are to be donated to the Gotham City Children's Orphanage._

_Bruce Wayne_

Once again Quinn could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes. Of course he would do something like this. Her father had been there for Bruce, and the one thing she knew would never change was the thankfulness he felt towards her father. The children's orphanage was something her father had been donating money to for years.

She almost missed it but in the corner of the invitation something was written. It was obviously not a part of the invitation. _I'm Sorry Q._ Wiping away the tears now falling past her cheeks she called out to Jake and told him to tell Alfred that she would be attending. With that done she now had two days until the auction.

**.o.O.o.**

Alfred Pennyworth was a tolerant man but seeing his former ward and the man he had come to see as a son beat to hell he could feel that tolerance slipping. "Tell me sir. When you began this crusade to rid Gotham of its criminal element did you spare any thought to how it would impact on those who care about you?"

Bruce looked up from where he was wrapping the gauze around his bruised ribs and shot Alfred a confused glance. He had seen far worse than tonight since he had adopted the persona of Batman and he would no doubt see even worse still. What was it about tonight that seemed to have Alfred in such a mood? And then he remembered. "I take it you went to see Quinn." Using his teeth he ripped the gauze and pinned it to his side. "You're always more protective after seeing her." Alfred made to say something but Bruce held up a hand to quiet him. "I know you worry Alfred. But contrary to what you might think, I know what I'm doing." There was a silent pause between the two. "So how was she?"

"Given the circumstances I'd say she is dealing with everything quite well. It would be nice if she had a friend in town to help her. Someone who may know something about losing a parent." With that Alfred directed a pointed glance at Bruce.

Letting out a sigh Bruce began to pack away the first aid kit before walking further into the penthouse they were staying in until Wayne Manor was rebuilt. "I haven't spoken to her in eight years Alfred. Things are just too complicated at the moment. I have too much going on with the Batman to deal with anything else."

"Then why invite Miss Connelly to the auction. Why have the auction at all? I'll tell you why. Because the Batman is not all that you are. Bruce Wayne is who you are sir and sooner or later, if you're not careful, the lines between the two are going to become so blurred that even you won't know who you really are anymore. Take the night to be free of Batman." Now it was Alfred's turn to ignore when Bruce tries to cut in. "I'm not asking for you to give up the Batman entirely, though heaven knows I would sleep better at night if you were to do so. No. I'm simply asking for you to be Bruce Wayne for a few hours."

The sound of the phone ringing filled the penthouse and Alfred quickly moved over to answer. The call only lasted a few minutes before Alfred placed the phone back in its cradle and turned to the young Billionaire. "She will be at the auction. I implore that you show the same courtesy. It was after all, your idea."

Turning around he exited the penthouse leaving Bruce to stand in the middle of the living space, deep in thought.

**.o.O.o.**

Quinn stood nervously in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom. This would be her first time in the public eye in nearly a month. And the first time at a Gotham gathering in almost four years, not since the twentieth birthday party her father had thrown her. Her hand anxiously ran over the light purple Vera Wang Banded Waist Strapless Cocktail Dress that she wearing, the satin felt impossibly smooth to touch. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head with a few stray pieces falling down to frame her face. It was the necklace around her neck that drew her attention the most. It had belonged to her mother. The intricately woven silver design housed a perfectly rounded piece of emerald, the exact colour of Quinn's eyes. She remembered her mother wearing this almost every day. It had been the one year anniversary from her father. This was the first time that Quinn had worn it. It seemed appropriate.

Hearing a knock at the door she turned to see Lucy poking her head into the room. Well it was now or never.

**.o.O.o.**

Everyone was still unaware of her presence in the city. As the car rounded the street approaching the Museum Quinn felt something heavy weighing on her chest. She couldn't do this. It was too soon. She was about to tell the driver to just keep going and take her home when she felt the car pull to a stop. Crap. As the door beside her opened she put a small smile on her face and stepped out of the car. The reaction was almost instantaneous. From every direction she heard her name being called and the flashes of the cameras were going off like crazy. This was too much. She was considering turning around and making a run for it when she felt a warm hand on her back pushing her forward and away from the crowd of reporters, some of which she was certain worked for her.

As she and her mystery helper broached the doors Quinn turned to thank them. She didn't recognise the man. He seemed to be in his late thirties and had the typical blonde hair, blue eyes combo. "Thanks for that. It's been a while since I stepped into a frenzy like that and I guess it went to my head a little. I'm Quinn Connelly." She held out a hand to the man who in turn reached out and shook it.

"I know who you are. I'm Harvey Dent. Gotham's newest D.A. I'd love to stay and chat Miss Connelly but I see myself getting the wave." He nodded his head in the direction of three middle aged men looking in their direction. "It was nice meeting you. I hope we see each other again later in the evening." With that he turned and walked away leaving Quinn standing alone in the middle of the entryway.

Turning in the opposite direction that Harvey had walked she took the flight of stairs leading up to where she knew the auction was being held. What she saw at the top of the stairs though shocked her. In a frame almost as tall as her stood a photo of her father with his arm wrapped around her mother and in her arms a black haired, green eyed baby girl was sleeping. Quinn cursed herself. She had thought that she was out of tears after her breakdown the day before when she had been boxing up some things in her parent's old bedroom. She hated to make herself look vulnerable. Especially in public. Quickly pushing away the one stray tear that made its way down her face she moved into the main hall.

Picking up on of the flyers listing what would be on auction tonight she also grabbed a glass of wine from one of the tray being walked around the room. Some of the items up for purchase were being shown around the room. She was particularly taken with a Ming Vase that she knew that her father would have loved. Quinn stood there for a moment admiring it when she felt someone move up behind her. "It looks just like the one that we broke during that water balloon fight."

A small, genuine smile worked its way over her lips. "_We_ broke? If I remember correctly it was you who couldn't aim worth a damn and hit it. Not me." The chuckle that broke out behind her sent a shiver up her spine. So far so good. No awkwardness as of yet.

She turned around and had to crane her head up to meet his chocolate brown eyes. "Quinn. It's good to see you. I'm glad you came."

"It's good to see you too Bruce. It's been a long time."

Unfortunately the moment was broken by the sounds of shattering glass and gunfire.

**.o.O.o.**

**Sam: every review saves a puppies life! so tell us what you think and save one of those cute little guys.**

**Quint: Sam! You can't bribe the readers.**

**Sam: I think I just did.**

**Kris: Reader please ignore these two idiots. If you liked the first chapter and want to see what happens next drop us a review. If you didn't like it feel free to tell us why and we'll try and improve on it.**


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